As I eat mince pies and try not to spend too much time reading the news, I’ve been reflecting on what my writing hopes are looking ahead.
It feels hard to think ahead when so much in the world seems uncertain. But over the festive period, I’m hoping to plan more pitches ready to send out in the new year to a range of publications. I also have some PhD writing to work on, preparing for the mid year review that comes at the start of February to evaluate my progress so far. And a few weeks ago I finished the first draft of a new novel. Soon I intend to sit down and read through the manuscript and make a start on the next draft so I can get it to a stage I feel ready to share it with my agent. I’m a big believer in messy first drafts, so I’m expecting it may need quite a bit of work – but I actually really enjoy editing! For me, getting the words down in the first place is often the hardest part, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in on the second draft, as that’s when it feels like it starts to really come together.
It’s nice to be ending this strange year with two more articles published. The Dec / Jan issue of PosAbility magazine features my article “Getting Creative”, where I explore how disabled people can get involved in the arts. I reflect on my experience of being supported by DaDaFest’s Artist Development Programme last year (something I’ve written about on this blog before), and how this helped me as a writer. I also talk about what support there is for disabled artists and highlight some of the great disability arts organisations we’re lucky to have.
And my feature “Connect with Nature Close to Home” is in the January issue of Happiful magazine. It’s all about ways we can celebrate nature and the changing seasons without having to go far beyond our front doors, from learning about local wildlife to snuggling down with some great nature writing.
This Christmas may look very different to what we’d hope for, especially after such a difficult year for us all. I hope that whatever you’re doing this festive season, you manage to have a restful, enjoyable time.
DadaFest are based at the Bluecoat creative hub in the city centre, in a characterful historic building. It was a really positive chat and I left feeling excited about what’s on offer, in particular setting up mentoring for me with an established writer to further develop my creative practice. I’ve now got some thinking to do around what support in particular I’d like from the programme to help with my writing career. This year I’m making a real push with my writing, and being part of DaDaFest’s Artist Development Programme looks set to be a big help.
The museum has selection of instruments for visitors to play, so Gary and I had a bit of time trying out various guitars. Gary showed off his shredding and serenaded me with songs from his band, 
Caroline Butterwick 